Nick A. Greisen ( ; born August 10, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the fifth round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Greisen also played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He is the younger brother of quarterback

Chris Greisen Christopher J. Greisen (born July 2, 1976) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL), NFL Europe, Arena Football League (AFL), and United Football League (UFL). He is the current co ...

and the cousin of offensive lineman

Casey Rabach Casey Edward Rabach (; born September 24, 1977) is an American former professional football center. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft, and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins. He ...

Early life

Greisen was born and raised in

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Sturgeon Bay is a city in Door County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 9,646 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the bay of Sturgeon Bay for which it is named, it is the most populous city o ...

. He attended Sturgeon Bay High School, where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and punter on the football field. Greisen was a five-sport athlete his senior year of high school.

College career

Greisen played

after being offered a scholarship at a Badger camp before his senior year of high school. After playing as a backup his freshman and sophomore years, Greisen cracked the starting lineup as a junior and led the Big Ten in tackles. He also earned All-Big Ten honors after his junior season. A team captain his senior year, he led the country in tackles and was first-team all-Big Ten.

Professional career

New York Giants

Greisen was selected in the fifth round (152nd overall) by the

in the

. He played mostly on special teams during his first two seasons, and also made his first start in December of his rookie season when Mike Barrow was injured. He also saw significant playing time at linebacker after injuries to

Barrett Green Barrett Nicholas Green (born October 29, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was selected in the s ...

in 2004 and 2005 opened a starting position.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 28, 2006, the

signed Greisen to a two-year contract. The move came after Greisen could not put a deal together with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

and the Jaguars tried unsuccessfully to sign

LaVar Arrington LaVar RaShad Arrington (born June 20, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittan ...

. During the 2006 season, he started ten games and recorded an interception. Greisen was released by the team during final preseason roster cuts in 2007.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 19, 2007, Greisen signed with the

after the team waived

Dennis Haley Dennis Sean Haley (born February 18, 1982) is an American former professional football linebacker. He most recently played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed by the New York Jets of the National Foo ...

. On March 13, 2008, the Ravens re-signed him to a three-year, $4 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. Greisen's defensive playing time sharply declined in the 2008 season, and the Ravens released him on March 13, 2009, in a move that saved the team $716,000 in salary cap space.

Denver Broncos

On April 28, 2009, Greisen signed a one-year contract with the

. He spent the season on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after sustaining a knee injury in training camp. He was resigned by the team on April 29, 2010. Greisen was waived by the team on August 12, 2010, when the team signed Johnny Williams.

Omaha Nighthawks

Greisen was signed by the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010 UFL season, 2010. During ...

of the United Football League on September 8, 2010. He spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the organization.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Greisen appeared on ElimiDate during his playing career in New York. Greisen is married, and obtained an MBA degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

after his playing career ended. With that MBA, he signed on with Pro Financial Services as a sports insurance specialist.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileJacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greisen, Nick 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Wisconsin American football linebackers Wisconsin Badgers football players New York Giants players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players Denver Broncos players Omaha Nighthawks players People from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Kellogg School of Management alumni